-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Storms battering the southern United States put 32 million people from West Virginia to Florida at risk of facing severe weather Tuesday , CNN meteorologist Indra Petersons reported .

By 7 p.m. ET , Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport had more than 500 delays , according to flightaware.com .

The storms are already blamed for two deaths , the first October tornado fatalities in the United States since 2009 , CNN meteorologist Pedram Javaheri reported . Both took place Monday -- one in Alabama and another in Arkansas .

Earlier Tuesday , part of the Atlanta area faced a tornado warning .

Several inches of rain were pounding large swaths of the Southeast . There were nearly 1,000 lightning strikes in a one-hour period Tuesday morning , Javaheri said .

The weather pattern has the Northeast in its sights as well . Some areas could see 3 inches of rain . The expansive storms stretch from Mobile , Alabama , up to Ontario , Canada , Javaheri said .

The National Weather Service says there 's a chance of severe thunderstorms in parts of eight states , from the Florida Panhandle north to West Virginia .

And while there is a threat of tornadoes , `` widespread wind damage may be more prevalent , '' CNN meteorologist Alexandra Steele said . `` Within some of these storms , the winds may gust to 60 to 70 miles per hour . ''

Deaths blamed on weather

A 75-year-old woman in Dora , Alabama , died when a large oak tree fell on her mobile home Monday afternoon , police said .

`` She was sitting on her daybed in the trailer and the tree fell directly on top of her , '' said Dora Police Chief John Duchock .

Kenneth Watts , a volunteer with the Yerkwood Fire Department , lived nearby and tried to rescue the woman , identified as Shirley Hicks .

`` I tried everything I could to get her out , but there was a tree on top of her , '' he tearfully told CNN affiliate WBMA . `` She was like a grandmother to me . ''

Her husband was taken to a hospital with head injuries . He 's expected to make a full recovery , WBMA reported .

Dora is about 25 miles northwest of Birmingham .

Early Monday , a man was killed and three members of his family were injured when storms swept through Little River County in western Arkansas , according Sheriff Gary Gregory , who said the house they were in was leveled .

Charles Edward Whithem , 33 , was found dead in the debris near Ashdown , about 18 miles northwest of Texarkana , Gregory said .

`` It 's hard to even look at -LRB- the home -RRB- , '' Whithem 's uncle Freddie Harrington told affiliate KTHV . `` It 's sad . I think of all the good times we had . ''

The system also flipped cars and destroyed several other buildings in the county .

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NEW : Atlanta 's airport , world 's busiest , has more than 500 delays by 7 p.m. ET

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Wind damage may be more prevalent than tornadoes , with gusts up to 70 mph

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An expansive storm system stretches from the U.S. Gulf Coast to Ontario

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Monday marked the first October U.S. deaths from tornadoes since 2009